H-1B layoffs hit Indians hard as US tech firms cut jobs and visa fallback options face stricter scrutiny.
Thousands of Indian technology professionals working in the US on H-1B visas are once again facing uncertainty as another wave of layoffs has hit the tech industry. Immigration lawyers and industry experts say the situation has become more difficult this time because the commonly used fallback option, temporarily switching to a B-1/B-2 visitor visa, is now facing increased scrutiny from authorities. Earlier, the laid-off H-1B employees often used the 60-day grace period after losing a job to either find another employer or apply for a change of status to a visitor visa while continuing their job search legally.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), H-1B workers who lose employment are granted a 60-day grace period or until the expiry of their I-94 status, whichever comes first, to either get a new job, change visa status, or leave the country.
The countdown generally begins from the employee’s final working day rather than the last salary payment. During this period, the worker is still considered to be in authorised status.
The rule was originally designed to prevent highly skilled foreign workers from being forced to leave the country immediately after layoffs. But in reality, finding another sponsoring employer within two months has become increasingly difficult, especially during a slowdown in hiring and layoffs across the technology sector.
Indians constitute the largest percentage of H-1B visa workers in the US tech sector. This is why most of the lay-offs by top firms like Meta and Amazon are impacting Indians the most. The findings of a report published in 2026 by USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security reveal that out of a total of 406,348 approved H-1B visas in FY25, 283,772 were held by Indians.
According to a report by Economic Times, there are thousands of Indians who are running against time to find new jobs before their 60-day period comes to an end.
According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 110,000 employees across 144 technology companies have lost jobs so far in 2026. Immigration experts estimate that thousands of those affected are H-1B visa holders, many of them Indian nationals.
The latest concerns have intensified after Meta launched another round of global layoffs this week as part of its AI-focused restructuring strategy.
According to reports, employees in Singapore started receiving layoff emails as early as 4AM local time on Wednesday. Workers in the United States and Europe were also expected to be affected.
Experts say affected workers still have several possible ways, depending on their individual circumstances.
Transfer to Another H-1B Employer
Shift to Another Visa Category
B-1/B-2 visitor visas
Leave the US and Return Later
Green Card-Linked Protections
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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